Rose Petals
by The Dark Knight's Revenge
Summary: Ginny finds Malfoy on her doorstep, bleeding and near death. Will the Weasleys let him stay, or will they leave him to die? Most of all, can Ginny learn to accept this new person? Maybe hidden feelings are coming to the top, making it hard for her?
1. Chapter 1

Ginny had no clue what made her let him in that night, but she must have had a good reason.

The gash in his shoulder, maybe.

Or, the fact that he was soaking wet in the middle of a storm.

Maybe the fact that it was almost midnight.

Whichever it was, she had let Draco Malfoy into the Burrow.

Actually, she had half-carried him, because he had passed out.

* * *

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The knock at the door cut through the sound of the pouring rain, causing Ginny to jump and burn herself on the cocoa she had been drinking.

She slowly got up from the faded red sofa where she had been reading her favorite book.

Who could be knocking at this hour?

Her parents and siblings were already downstaris, wands at the ready in case it was someone deadly.

"Open the door Ginny" her father said, pulling a robe over his pajamas.

Ginny did, and a soaking wet figure fell into her arms, splashing her with blood and rain.

Molly gasped and lit a lamp while Ron helped Ginny carry the person over to the table.

They turned him over, and they all gasped.

There, laying on the scarred wood of the Weasley family table, was Draco Malfoy.

Ron turned bright red, and started yelling about kicking him out.

Ginny turned pale and sat on the sofa before she passed out.

Meanwhile, Molly got out her wand and started performing some healing hexes on his shoulder.

"Mum!!! What the hell are you doing?"

Molly didn't even look over at her enraged son.

"I'm healing him"

Ron was lost for words.

"B-but he's a Malfoy!!!"

"Malfoy or not, he needs medical attention"

Ron growled, then stomped upstairs to go back to bed.

After a few moments, Molly straightened up and cast a levitation spell on the unconcious boy, then gave to wand to Ginny.

"Ginny dear, take him up to the spare bedroom, will you?"

Ginny grudgingly did, taking him up the stairs and into the guest bedroom.

As she turned to leave, Ginny noticed the moonlight reflecting on Malfoy's face, and realized that he was actually quite handsome.

"Goodnight" she whispered, then left, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

Draco woke up the next morning with a monstrous headache.

He remembered being stabbed, but nothing after. Where the heck was he?

He got up, and found himself dressed in his robes, that was a good sign. His wand was missing, but he always could steal it back if necessary.

He went downstairs, marveling at how rickety and messy the house was.

Then, he walked into what he found was the kitchen, and was met with his worst nightmare

He had knocked on the door of the Weasleys.

At first, he opened his mouth to snarl something to them, but Mrs. Weasley gestured to the table with the frying pan she was holding.

"There's a plate there for you Draco, please eat up"

Draco shut his mouth quickly, surprised that she would feed him.

He sat down, noticing that he was sitting next to the youngest Weasley, Ginny.

Ginny.

Her name sounded so pretty.

He shook himself slightly, then started to eat the plate of eggs and Bacon, realizing that he was famished.

Ginny couldn't help taking a glance at Draco from behind her curtain of red hair.

"Please pass the syrup" He said, making her jump and put her elbow in the butter dish.

Instantly, the whole table was laughing at her. The last time she had done that was when she was twelve and Harry caught her staring at him across the table.

She flushed, and practically threw the bottle of syrup at him, then put her plate in the sink and left, stomping upstairs and slamming her door behind her.

* * *

After the plates had been cleared away and Ginny had come back downstairs, Arthur Weasley sat down across from Draco and started to clean his glasses.

"I suppose you want to know why i'm here, sir"

Draco hadn't meant to add the 'sir' onto his sentence, but his manners got in the way.

"I suppose i do" Mr. Weasley said, placing his glasses back on his head.

"I was kicked out"

Mr. Weasley nodded and started cleaning his glasses again, picking at a miniscule piece of dirt.

"May I ask why?"

Draco shook his head and sat back, folding his hands in his lap.

"Very well Draco, your reasons are your own, I understand"

Draco nodded again as Arthur continued.

"I feel that even though we have not seen eye to eye, I am entitled to offer you a place to stay"

"I'm sorry sir, but I must be going" Draco said as he stood up.

"Don't be silly dear, you have nowhere to go" Mrs. Weasley said, looking at him kindly as she dried a plate.

Draco took another step towards the door, the conflict clear on his face.

"Maybe we should have a family vote" Ginny said, drying off another plate.

Mr and Mrs. Weasley nodded.

"Ginny, call everyone down here, Harry and Hermione too"

GInny nodded and ran upstairs, coming back down with the entire Weasley family and sitting down at the table.

CRUD

Draco hadn't realized that there were that many of them.

Potter and Granger too.

CRUD

"Okay everyone, we're having a family vote on whether we let Draco stay with us, Oldest to youngest, I vote yes"

Molly turned from the dishes.

"Yes"

That was two in his favor.

Bill stood up next.

"Sure"

Then Charlie.

"Fine"

That was four.

Percy.

"No"

One against him.

Fred and George were also No's, as was Ron.

Harry was a surprising Yes, and Hermione was a No.

That left...

Ginny.

Crud.

There was no way she would vote in his favor.

"Yes"

What?

???????

"I guess that settles it, you are now officially welcome here" Mr. Weasley said, smiling.

* * *

So, what'cha think?????

PLease please please please REview!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Draco blinked at Ginny, unsure of whether he had heard her correctly. She would let him have a place to stay? After he had taunted her entire family?

"Draco, dear. You can move into either Charlie or Bill's room, they will be leaving before the morning. Ginny will show you, the others are going down to the village" Mrs. Weasley said tenderly, beginning to dry more plates.

The other people in the room filed out of the front door, leaving Malfoy alone with Ginny. They stared awkwardly at each other, then Ginny cleared her throat and proceeded up the stairs. Draco followed quietly.

The two climbed the old, worn steps for quite some time in silence, then Ginny stopped at the second to last landing.

"This is Bill's room, it's right above the attic, which is a bit backwards I suppose... The Ghoul tends to make a racket, but it's worse in Charlie's room so I-" Ginny shut her mouth, blushing.

"Sorry" She mumbled. Malfoy nodded, a slight flush on his own cheeks.

"I-i'll go" Ginny stuttered, opening the door then darting past Malfoy down the stairs, quick as an elf.

"Weasley?" Draco asked. Ginny turned, blushing even harder.

"Could you inquire as to my wand?" Ginny nodded.

"By the way, the loo is down halfway with the large painting of a gnome on it" Ginny added. Malfoy nodded as he turned to go into Bill's room.

As soon as the door shut, a small smile broke out on Draco's face. So far, he had received more kindness from these poor people than he ever had from his own parents. He decided to give staying here a try.

Many things about the family intrigued him, most of all the youngest Weasley.

* * *

Draco laid down to sleep some more, and it felt like he was only asleep for ten minutes when a soft knock startled him awake. He stood up quickly, reaching for his wand when he realized that he didn't have one.

Feeling like an idiot, Draco opened the door to see Ginny once again.

"Mum said to invite you down for dinner" She said, flipping some of her auburn hair over her shoulder. Malfoy nodded, realizing that he was once again starving.

Ginny started down to stairs, banging a fist on each door as she went, yelling to her siblings and friends that it was time for dinner. Draco's eyebrows went up as he saw her get into an argument with one of her siblings.

"You don't have to knock so loud, Ginny!" The bespectacled brother complained in a nasally voice.

"Aw, hang it Percy" Ginny said, equally as nasally in a loud tone. THe brother harrumpfed and retreated into his room. As Draco went by, he saw a faded gold plaque with the sibling's name on it. Percy Weasley, that must be the one that worked for the minister.

Weasleys began to filter down the stairs, complete with Harry and Hermione. They must have come back from their trip sometime while he was asleep.

Draco was almost to the bottom of the stairs when his foot caught on something and he began to fall forwards.

Luckily, A strong hand caught him by the back of his robes, pulling him back to safety.

"Watch your step, son" Arthur Weasley's deep voice said. He clapped Malfoy on the shoulder with ease, as if this wasn't the first time he had saved someone from grinding their face into his floor.

Mrs. Weasley had laid out a large feast, which was being set upon by the other inhabitants of the house. The chatter was laud and punctuated by frequent laughter. Draco winced, feeling completely out of place.

"Come, Draco dear. I set you a place next to Charlie" Mrs. Weasley called, and Draco made his way awkwardly to her.

As soon as he sat down, the table went silent, looking at him expectantly. Draco stared back, unsure of what to do.

"Tuck in" Mrs. Weasley called, and every one began to dish out food, the talk and laughter beginning to build up again.

Draco let a small smile slip on to his face. For the first time in many months, he was actually beginning to feel what a real home felt like.


	3. Chapter 3

Malfoy was calmly eating his food, listening to the conversations around him. To his left, Charlie and Percy Weasley were discussing a recent dragon attack, while to the right, the twins told jokes.

"Do we have any of those peppermint humbugs left, mum?" Ginny asked from her spot directly across from Malfoy. Draco raised an eyebrow at the youngest Weasley, who flushed.

"Still like humbugs in your potatoes, Eh Gin?" Bill called from the end of the table. Ron snickered loudly. Ginny flushed even darker, her eyes flicking up to meet Malfoy's curious gaze and then back away.

"Here, dearest." Mrs. Weasley said, setting down a plate of humbugs in front of her daughter.

Ginny took one, beginning to open the wrapper with some difficulty. She pulled on one corner rather hard, and the humbug shot right onto Draco's plate.

Everyone at the table froze, staring at the candy that was slowly sinking into Draco Malfoy's mashed potatoes.

Malfoy's fork hovered over his plate. Had he been any other place, he would have exploded into a fit of rage by now and demanded new potatoes...

Deciding he could do no worse, Malfoy shoved his fork into the potato-covered humbug and ate it whole.

The table fell dead silent.

Malfoy swallowed the last bit of starchy peppermint, then looked up at a mortified Ginny Weasley.

"Thank you Ginny, how did you know that I liked peppermints in my potatoes?" He said calmly, reaching for another and unwrapping it. The humbug had actually tasted better than he thought it would.

"No... Way..." Fred and George said in unison as Malfoy dropped the other humbug in his potatoes and began to go back to his meal.

"That looks good." Harry said mildly. "Pass the humbugs, Ginny." Ginny complied, looking like she would rather the ground swallow her up.

Malfoy caught her eye again as he dug into his second humbug and winked. Ginny's eyes went wide and she put her elbow in the butter dish once again. Malfoy smirked at her over the rim of his glass as he took a drink, and she scowled, face as red as her hair.

* * *

After dinner, the Weasley boys and Harry charged out to play Quidditch. Ginny tried to escape as well, but her mother hauled her back.

"Dishes, Ginny dear." She said. Ginny fumed, plunging her hands up to the elbows in soapy water and beginning to scrub plates as her mother cleaned up the rest of the kitchen.

The redhead resisted the idea of slamming the first clean plate onto the counter, gasping in surprise as it was plucked out of her hand by Draco Malfoy, who proceeded to silently dry.

Ginny, too stunned to say anything, continued to hand Malfoy the dishes when she was done scrubbing them. After a while, Ginny relaxed into the rhythm of her work and began to hum, nearly forgetting that Malfoy was there.

Malfoy fell into a sort of stupor, drying the plates and stacking them neatly on the counter. He listened to the sounds of Ginny humming, the quidditch game outside, and Mrs. Weasley tidying the house, finding that he was slowly relaxing into the atmosphere.

As he dried a bowl, a question popped into his mind.

"Ginny?" He asked tentatively.

Ginny jumped, the knife she was cleaning biting deep into her hand. There was a gush of scarlet, and the blade clattered to the floor, closely followed by Draco's bowl, which shattered. Ginny screamed.

"Help!" Draco yelled, Ginny's cry of pain echoing in his ears.

"Goodness heavens!" Mrs. Weasley cried, running in from the living room. Mr. Weasley and Percy, who had been standing on the porch watching the game, ran in as well.

Ginny slowly slumped backwards with a moan, face white with pain and shock. Draco caught her helplessly, expression twisting in worry as he gently let her down to kneel on the floor.

"Move back." Mrs. Weasley said calmly, kneeling down and pulling out her wand. Draco took a hold of Ginny's injured hand, holding it steady while Mrs. Weasley worked. The cut was healed in second, but the blood was still everywhere.

Everything was silent for a second, then the rest of the Weasley herd burst through the door in a whirl of noise. Draco felt several hands pulling him backwards by his collar. He panicked momentarily when he saw Ginny's head about to hit the floor, but she began to sit up, eyes open. Draco relaxed, allowing himself to be pulled backwards.

Before he knew it, he had been slammed against the nearest wall and socked twice in the face.

Dazed, he pitched sideways, not defending himself. He could vaguely hear Ron yelling obscenities at him and Mr. Weasley trying to calm the others down. The noise in the kitchen was deafening, everyone talking at once.

Something wet began to drip down his chin, and Draco realized that it was his nose bleeding. Hands belonging to Bill and Charlie pulled him upright again, and Draco's dazed eyes found Ginny's in the crowd. She was looking at his face in horror.

"Stop it! All of you." Ginny said. The kitchen immediately fell silent. Ginny grabbed a dishtowel off the kitchen counter and walked quickly to him, mopping up his face as gently as she could. He accepted the towel from her, using it to stem the flow of blood from his nose.

"Ginny!" Ron bellowed disgustedly. Ginny rolled her eyes and whirled on Ron, slapping him across the face.

"You bloody git! I cut my hand on the knife I was cleaning, it had nothing to do with him!" Ginny said. She turned to the twins.

"You two! How dare you hit him! He is our GUEST!" She continued, her voice rising in volume.

"All of you, back to your game." Arthur Weasley said, interrupting Ginny's tirade. The boys filed out.

Mrs. Weasley instantly bustled over to tend his nose, but Draco waved her off, walking swiftly upstairs to his without so much as a word or glance at Ginny.


End file.
